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The Parables of Septon Merryweather
The Parables & Wisdom is a book/record currently being written by one of his assistants containing the various bits of knowledge and wisdom that Septon Merryweather has given. He does not know of the existence of this manuscript. The Married Candle-Maker This tale was told by Septon Merryweather to Alliser Tully in the Sept of Harrenhal: "I remember the story of a married candle-maker from Oldtown, who grew upset that the younger, newer candle-makers had begun to make more of a profit, and seemingly lived better lives than he. '' ''Now this married candle-maker was an industrious man already, but he decided to redouble his efforts, to double his time in the shop and going about finding people to sell candles to. It became his whole life, his craft of candle-making. It consumed his every moment, and he looked for those who were new and young in his profession to emulate and follow the example of, doing what they did to try and help himself. He soon became the best candle-maker in the land. '' ''Finally he felt he had enough gold, and decided to take it back to show his wife and children, to amaze and impress them and those he knew with his success emulating the acts of others. However, upon arriving at his home he found it empty...His wife and children had left him. '' ''You see, my son, though it is clearly good for a candle-maker to devote himself entirely to candle-making, most candle-makers have other considerations as well. The married candle-maker must consider his wife and family when it comes to his work, the young candle-maker must consider his master, and the old candle-makers? Well we have our knees to consider. '' ''All he had done to be the perfect candle-maker was useless in the end, for he had forgotten he was a married candle-maker." Meaning In this parable, Septon Merryweather teaches that we all have different stations in life, and that the Seven realize this. Not every person can or should serve their duty in the same way as others. A septon will express piety differently and more fully than a Lord, but the Lord not doing the things a Septon does will not make him any less successful or devoted in the eyes of the Seven. The Shepherd of Honeyholt This tale was told by Septon Merryweather to Andar II Arryn at Harrenhal: "Well this Shepherd, when he was young served under a master shepherd who would teach him his craft...A common occurrence for most professions. But yes, this fellow was nearing the end of his tenure, and he soon would be let loose to find employ of a shepherd, and maybe even have a flock of his own. '' ''Now when the time came for the shepherd boy to leave his master, his master called him into the pen and showed to him nine sheep, there was a ram there from the North, but that would have nothing to do with the Shepherd. His master looked to him and said, 'Take a sheep of your choice, any of them that you desire, having it to keep you stocked in wool and finery from its profits will do you well. '' ''Now the boy picked out the sheep that to him seemed best, one that looked sturdy and strong, that would help keep him secure. He took this sheep away with him. That night as he was trying to sleep he began to wonder if he had chosen the right sheep, some of the others looked so very nice as well. The shepherd became troubled, and decided he would go to his master and take a different sheep instead, returning the one he originally chose. '' ''It was not easy, but he finally convinced the master to give him another of the sheep, giving back the one he first had. Now, having been out of the master's care for a day, the master told the Shepherd that if this change became permanent, the sheep the shepherd had first chosen would be slaughtered. The Shepherd looked at the master and said, 'Then slaughter it, it is of no use to me anymore.' '' ''Turns out the second sheep the boy took had disease, and died of the plague, leaving the Shepherd defenseless and alone. He should have remained with the first sheep, but out of greed sought out one he thought better." Meaning A warning against being too ambitious or not content enough with one's lot in life. The Pig Farmers of Crakehall This tale was told by Septon Merrywaether to Lady Rosamund Lannister at the Sept of Harrentown: "When I passed through Crakehall many years ago I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of three of the most famous pig-farmers in the lands. Perhaps not an impressive claim to fame for you, Lady Lannister...But one that can mean everything to the folk. Now, each of these pig farmers prized their pigs as the best in the land over the other two, in fact they quite disliked each other for making those claims, but they continued to do it nonetheless. The first pig farmer's pigs were the most well-bred, their lines extended back for centuries it was said, and they had the richest and finest tasting meat available. The second pig farmer's pigs were the most fertile and numerous, they made grand acts of love with one another to spawn more piglets so that there was not a week that went by without a litter being delivered. The third? The third prized the obedience of his pigs...He could lead them to the butcher's or to the market and they wouldn't make a sound against him. Now some years before I met them a group of about twenty smallfolk had gathered in the countryside to start a pig-farm of their own. Somehow they managed to procure pigs of a foreign sort, strange looking and with an exotic taste, and began to breed them. But none were very good at it, and they went to the pig farmers to help. Now each of the pig farmers knew that the success of this new venture would see one of them ruined. But when the smallfolk came to the first farmer with the well-bred pigs to ask for help, he helped them by giving them two finely bred pigs and teaching them how to best breed them, hoping to put the second and third out of business...He did this secretly, not wanting the others to know. The next week the smallfolk came to the second pig farmer, who agreed to lend them one of his best breeders and taught them how to make their pigs more fertile, hoping he could put the first or third out of business. The same happened with the third. The next week the three farmers took their pigs to the market, and could not sell a single one...The smallfolk had pigs that bettered each of their own individually." Meaning Talk & Cooperation go further than anything else. The Boy Who Wished to Be a Knight This tale was told by Septon Merryweather to King Gwayne XI Gardener in the Reach Camp outside of Harrenhal. "When I passed through the Florent lands I met a young boy who wanted nothing more than to be a knight, it was his dream and his all. Now, the week after meeting me he declared that he would pray to the Seven each day for seven days, seven hours each day that he could become a knight. Now on the first day he prayed to the Father, asking him for a wise mentor to come to his village who could teach him and train him into what he was meant to be, which in the boy's mind was a knight...I was the only one to came into town that day. '' ''So he decided he'd wait the week out and on the second day he prayed to the Mother. He prayed that he could be made kind and gentle as any noble knight...That same day he stopped a few boys from bullying a village girl, and so he thought he surely was going to be a knight, the Seven were answering his prayer. So another day came and he prayed to the Warrior to make him strong, a fighter surpassed by none. That day he saw the same girl being taken to cells for assaulting the boys yesterday. He went to the guards and told the plain bare truth, though it landed him in trouble. He stood up for her, and had her released. Yet he wasn't happy that day, for his prayers hadn't been answered...He hadn't gotten any stronger, he didn't know any better how to swing a sword. But he kept up with it. He prayed to the Smith the next day, that he could have a shining suit of armour to stand up for his cause. He kept his eyes peeled on the road for the arrival of his armour, but all that came along was my tailor who made Septon's robes. He was disappointed, his prayers seemingly unanswered again Being now upset, he asked the Crone in his prayers to teach him to read, that he could be a courtly as well, and that he could teach others to be knights. He picked up a book on knights and could not read it still...He was broken-hearted, and turned back to the Seven Pointed Star, looking over the pages he knew and memorized, and wondered why the Seven weren't answering his prayers and making him a knight. Now on the sixth day he prayed to the Maiden, asking her for a lady to go on grand quests for. But the only lady who came into that town that day was a Septa, and so he grew despondant. He stopped praying on the Seventh day, saying that if the Seven would not answer his prayers he would go and be a knight himself. He took with him a wooden sword and shield and left the town...And was slain by bandits." Meaning The Seven always answer our prayers, but sometimes that answer is telling us to look in the other direction. The Six Burghers of Greengarden This tale was told by Septon Merryweather to Myles Tully in the River Sept of Riverrun. "Six burghers all owned some small amount of their own land, and this land had one thing in common, each parcel bordered a small pond which sat in the center of them all. Now this pond, being a source of particularly good fish, was the center of much debate amongst them, for it never crossed their minds that they could share it between themselves. For many years they would argue over it, the first building a fence about it which would be torn down by the third, or the fifth dumping nightsoil into the water to make it less desirable to the other five. Now...Finally the local catchpole had seen enough of this, especially when the children of the sixth burgher got into a brawl with the children of the second burgher. He sent each of them a letter calling them to the town hall so that they could settle the issue with arbitration and under his guidance. It came to pass that all six showed up bringing various arguments and methods of defense. One claimed his family had owned the land surrounding the pond longest and therefore should own it, a second that he was closely related to a former owner of it, a third that they deserved it because they'd use it best, and so on and so forth. Indeed, so diverse was their arguments that they had only one thing in common. They all had agreed to show up in the first place. '' During the course of the meeting with the catchpole, news spread of a fire in the south of town, one that could only be put out from the water in the pond. However, none of the burghers were willing to let the other family use the pond for fear of giving them some sign of ownership. The Catchpole therefore called a vote immediately, and it was decided that the fifth burgher would be given the pond.'' Some of the burghers accepted the decision, others did not. One had always intended to ignore the decision of the council if it wasn't in his favor, one thought that things hadn't been settled the way they would have liked. But do you know what the issue is with both of those two, and why it was wrong and an affront to the Seven and their town to ignore it?" Meaning You cannot agree to accept authority only as far as it suits you. Category:The Faith of the Seven